2020 Pacina “Ciliegiolo Toscana Rosso, Tuscany, Italy

A new wine for this historic name in natural wine. Formerly, the familys small plantings of Ciliegiolo were blended into their flagship red wine; after all, the variety is notoriously difficult to ripen fully. However, given the dramatic warming of the climate in recent years, Giovanna and Stefano have begun producing a separate bottling of Ciliegiolo, showcasing its boisterous characterin purezza. This wine macerated for three weeksamong their briefest macerations (Ciliegiolo possesses thick skins and a great deal of phenolic material)and spent two years in a combination of concrete and steel before being bottled with no additions. Spice-drenched jet-black fruits are buoyed by tangy acidity and corseted by warm, fuzzy tannins, and the whole thing pulses with energy.